Regrowth
by StratosphereDream
Summary: It was just a normal day in the lair for the five teenagers, but when Mikey comes in boasting about a new video game, their lives change forever. TMNT2012 Series.
1. Act One, The Prologue

The dark, dank streets of Manhattan were generally seen as a minute detail in the lives of the city's one million, six hundred thousand residents. The "City That Never Sleeps" had no knowledge of the vast world that opened up beneath the sewer grates. A world that was infinitely more complex than anything they know now.

Below the ground lived four teenage boys, brothers, along with their father and sensei. For more than fifteen years, this family hid away, their entire lives depending on their ability to blend into the shadows and hide away from the world above. The reason? These four brothers and their father were mutants. Four turtles and a human mutated alongside each other, the human turning into a rat.

In their sewer home, the eldest brother Leonardo with the blue band, was sitting in front of the television screen, his eyes glued to the program dancing across it: _Space Heroes_. He was completely enthralled in his favorite television show.

The second eldest brother, Raphael with the red band was parked on the couch behind him, his eyes looking over the pages of a comic book at the show that his brother was completely invested in.

"I still have no idea why you enjoy this stupid show, Leo," he teased, his eyes rolling and then quickly focusing back on the pages of his comic.

Leo could only shush him, not wanting to miss a moment of the episode that he'd surely seen at least five times.

Across their living room lair, the second youngest and third eldest brother, Donatello with the purple band sat at a long table, his laptop sitting next to a pile of parts that was brainstorming over.

"Let him have his fun, Raph," he called, tongue sticking between his teeth as he focused. "We all have our own 'escape', and Space Heroes is Leo's."  
"Yeah, but why does he have to be so dorky about it, Donnie?" Raph asked, a small chuckle rising out of him. "You've heard him quote lines from it while we're training."

"It's called liking something, Raph. Maybe you should try it instead of being so grumpy all of the time," Donnie retorted, trying his best to sass Raph into quieting.

A resounding crash sounded through the lair as the youngest brother, Michelangelo with the orange band spilled off of his skateboard and into the furniture, drawing a long groan from Leo. He had all of the episodes on DVD, but liked watching them on television more.

"Guys, guys!" Mikey called, his voice slightly muffled from being face down on the floor. "I snagged this new videogame that I want to play with you all! It just came out today and April brought it to the lair for me!"

Almost on cue, the red-headed girl hopped over the turnstiles that led into their sewer home. "Mikey, you need to learn how to slow down," she joked, a small grin playing across her face. "I swear, running with ninjas is crazy."

The orange banded terrapin offered an apologetic smile at her, "Sorry, April. I'm just really excited to play this game! It was announced two years ago, and I've been dying of boredom while waiting. Game of the Year 2013, no doubt!"

Donnie stood, heading over to where his younger brother stood and grabbing the game case from him. The brightly decorated cover read "Regrowth", and the dark developer logo in the corner reading "Gecko's Net" sticking out like a sore thumb.

A small hole formed in Donnie's stomach as he read the name, a voice in the back of his head recognizing it.

"So what are you guys waiting for?!" Mikey exclaimed. "Let's play!"


	2. Act One, Part One

_Phew. I was honestly surprised that I managed to update this story so quickly. Okay, where to begin... first things first, this is the first author's note of the story. I wanted to save my introduction for here, because frankly, the story doesn't really kick off until part one. For all the views it's gotten so far, I am incredibly grateful, and I hope now that the story is moving along, you'll enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it. So, on with the show!_

* * *

The case was snatched from Donatello's hands by Raphael, who quickly turned the box over and read the back. "A five player role playing game. You sure did bag a good one, Mikey," he commented, a grin playing across his face.

Mikey beamed with excitement, "I know, right?! And since it uses the system's camera, the avatar creation is instant. It makes it to where the actual player is their in game avatar. We'll just get different armor and weapons and stuff. There's no telling where exactly our stats will go."

Leo smiled, "Well, I think the five of us should play, then. It's got to be a good one, judging on that."

April nodded her head in agreement, "I've been waiting for the game just like Mikey was. I'm incredibly excited, so there's no way I'm missing out on this."

The four faces all turned to Donatello, the only one who hadn't yet confirmed player status.

He pushed all thoughts of doubt from his mind, and gave them a tight nod. "I don't see why not. We haven't all played a game together in a long time, after all."

Mikey's round face exploded in glee, and he pumped his fist in the air. "Booyakasha! Yes! We're so going to rock this game!"

Donnie rolled his eyes and watched Raph put the disc inside their console while Leo changed the television's input. The five teenagers all grabbed their controllers, color coded based on their bandannas and yellow for April. The console started with the press of a button, the soft humming of the CD drive filling the room.

The game started immediately, the developer's logo flashing across the screen and sending another shudder of doubt through Donatello's body. The purple banded turtle looked around at the others, none of them seeming to show any indication of remembering the name "Gecko's Net."

When the game's title screen appeared, a command for all players to press start appeared, and each teenage complied, thumbs all hitting the start button in rapid succession. They were immediately transported to the character creation screen, which activated the system's camera.

Mikey stood and moved closer to the camera, letting it snap his picture and send his model into the game for him to play with. Each player continued the process, the chain finally stopping on Donatello.

After the characters were created, the screen dissolved into a cinematic, upon which the players were captivated by the intense graphics and story that was just begging to be played all the way through.

The five teens stayed in stunned silence as the opening played, Mikey's mouth hanging open in excitement and awe. Raph snickered slightly upon seeing his younger brother's reaction, and Leo gave him a sharp nudge in order to quiet him down.

The opening scene drew to a conclusion, and each of the players quickly regained the composure that they had lost when it had first began, only to witness themselves standing in a semicircle at the beginnings of a crossroads.

A non-player character began to explain their current mission to them, each pair of eyes following along with the subtitles that synchronized perfectly with the characters speech.

"Alright gang," Leo began, speaking in his usual Captain Ryan tone, "we've got our mission, and now it's time to complete it."

Raph rolled his eyes, but knew that he couldn't argue with that completely sound logic, so he opted to stay quiet for once. Mikey on the other hand, couldn't help but voice his opinion.

"Dude! Why do you get to be the party leader?" he argued, his round face puffing up in what could be described as a mix between a pout and anger.

Leo gawked over at Mikey, letting out a small chuckle as if the orange banded turtle had told a joke. "What are you suggesting, Mikey? You be the leader? That's ridiculous."

"Uh, duh! Of course I should be the leader. This is my game, I know more about it than anyone else besides April, and I'm the one who reserved the copy," he retorted, before adding a small, "using Donnie's debit card."

"You what?!" the purple banded turtle exclaimed.

Mikey turned to his older brother, "I was going to pay you back! April was going to let me do some work for her."

The redhead nodded, and it seemed that Mikey had to be telling the truth. And as everyone in the room knew, Donnie would never argue with April's word.

"As long as I still have some money in there," Donnie mumbled, turning his attention back to the screen.

Mikey rounded back to Leonardo once again, "Anyway, Leo, I should be the leader."

Leo could only roll his eyes, "Mikey, this is just like our actual training. I'm the leader, and Raph and I make up the A-Team. You and Donnie are the A-Minus Team."

Donnie grumbled slightly, and Mikey's expression only worsened to one of full anger, "You still think you're better than me!"

Leo shook his head, "No, no! We've all valuable parts of the team, yours just isn't the leader part."

April made a slight hissing sound, "Ouch, Leo."

Raph interceded the argument, "Hey, before you two cats start clawing each other's eyes out, maybe we should actually play the game."

Mikey snapped out of his fervor and turned his eyes back to the screen, the argument almost completely forgotten. Almost.

"Sorry guys," Leo muttered, turning back to the screen and analyzing the situation before them. Their first quest was a simple one. Five gems to be collected and dropped at an altar at the center of the starting village. It sounded simple enough, so in a matter of seconds, the entire party was off to collect the first gem.

Each player had a unique weapon, vastly different from the ones that they had in real life. Raphael was equipped with a standard pistol, while April had a cutlass. Leo and Donnie both had magic staffs, and Mikey was fitted with a large hammer.

The entire party came upon their first enemy, a battered looking feral hog. The turn order randomized on screen, and Mikey was presented with the first hit. A small string of commands set the orange banded turtle on a straight course for dealing an attack to their enemy, hammer coming down hard on top of the hog.

It's hit points were displayed above it's head, and Mikey had seemed to successfully knock down a fourth of the bar in one go while rendering incapable of returning a hit this turn. The screen moved Mikey's avatar to the end of the line, and April's character was designated to make the second move.

"Alright boys, let me show you how it's done," she exclaimed, entering in her short string of commands. "I read online that one of the special traits of cutlass wielders is that they are able to strike twice in one turn."

And strike twice she did. Two slashes on the hog, the final being a critical hit that left it barely clinging to life. The turn rotation changed once again, and Raphael led the head of the pack.

Within seconds, the feral hog had been killed, and a small bar displayed under each name, the experience points dishing out to each player, even Donnie and Leo, who hadn't had a chance to move. April wound up with the majority of the points, and managed a level up.

Raph reached across Leo to give April a light punch in the arm, "Way to kill it, freckles."

She scoffed, but returned a smile back in the temperamental turtle's direction.

The quest resumed, and it took only ten more minutes of cruising, with minimal enemy encounters for them to locate four of the five gems. Leo hit the button to pull up the minimap, and studied it carefully for a moment. "It seems like the next gem is hidden inside of the altar. So to it, we go."

The group all started moving towards the final stop on their journey, and upon entering the altar, split up in order to find the gem faster. A few minutes of searching and a small a-ha came from Mikey.

"Found the gem! Oh yeah, Mikey's got the nose of a bloodhound!" he exclaimed, fist pumping in the air.

"And the brain of a shi-tzu," Raph teased.

A quick glare resulted from the orange banded turtle, but he returned his attention on the game in seconds. "So now we just have to present the gems to the altar, and our first quest has been completed."

Each member on screen held one gem in their hands, each of them of a varying shade of green. They moved the center mantelpiece of the altar, an angel with hands holding a small tray where each gem fit perfectly.

The party knelt down, hands held high in offering. They watched, stunned looks on each of their faces as the gems rose from the air, slotting into their respective spots.

Five pairs of eyes widened in surprise at the vibrant colors escaping from the television screen, and each one couldn't help but let out a noise of shock as the screen went to black.

"What happened?" Leo asked, his blue eyes wide with trepidation.

"It might be some kind of game breaking bug," Donnie offered, a sheepish look on his face.

"I don't think so dudes, look," Mikey replied, his three fingered hand pointing towards the screen.

A nasty shade of green filled the television, and soon the entire room. Each face contorted to an expression of sheer terror as the green light filled their vision, blinding each of them.

With a final flash of white light, the room had emptied, five video game controllers lying on the floor.


End file.
